In recent years, audio cassettes have become increasingly popular and are approaching outselling usual L.P. record disc sales and are considerably more popular than 8-track audio tapes. The introduction of these cassettes into the audio market presented a problem to the retail sellers in that the cassettes, which are much smaller than the 8-track tapes and record discs, had to be displayed so that prospective purchasers could inspect the same to determine the artist, songs, etc. on the cassettes. This presents a security problem due to the extremely small size of the cassettes in contrast to the record discs and 8-track tapes.
Existing record discs are placed on their edges and displayed in racks since theft of the discs is extremely difficult due to their large size, generally 12 inches by 12 inches. One popular means of storing and displaying 8-track tapes is to place the same in a storage cabinet having a plastic or glass front that is provided with a circular opening through which a prospective purchaser can insert his or her hand and remove an 8-track tape from a horizontal storage shelf and inspect the same through the glass as to the recording artist and particular songs on the tape. The size of the opening in the transparent panel is too small to permit the 8-track tape from being removed through the opening, and it requires an attendant to unlock and open the storage cabinet for final sales.
The small size of the audio cassette makes such methods of display difficult from a security standpoint, since the circular opening in the display rack has to be sufficiently large to enable a prospective buyer to place a hand through the opening for manipulation of the cassette. This opening would be large enough for the cassette to be removed through the opening. Also, open rack display of cassettes in a similar manner as record discs would be extremely vulnerable to theft problems. Therefore, various packaging arrangements have been devised which enable the audio cassettes to be displayed for sale vertically in usual record disc display racks and horizontally in usual 8-track tape cases or suspended from a display rack on hooks or pegs.
Various types of security packages have been developed to provide a safe and secure device for displaying the cassette while retarding removal of the cassette from the package and subsequent theft from the store. Examples of such packages are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,828,922; 3,871,516; 4,243,142; 4,245,741; 4,285,429; 4,361,233; 4,381,836; 4,466,540; 4,489,832; 4,634,004; 4,567,983; 4,572,369, and 4,635,797. Another prior art package is a rectangular-shaped cardboard box having an opening formed in an upper portion of the box which enables the printed material on the cassette to be read by a prospective purchaser. This entire box and cassette is wrapped in a clear plastic heat shrink paper. This enables the cassettes to be stored in a record disc cabinet and permits a prospective purchaser to read the contents of the tape through the clear window formed by the box opening.
Although these known packages do perform their intended functions, they have several disadvantages. The cardboard packages must be wrapped in a heat shrink paper after the cassette has been placed in the box which requires the record distributor or retailer to purchase a heat-shrink wrapping machine and manually wrap and package each casette. The reuseable, plastic molded type of packages having the key-acutated removable bar are relatively expensive due to the intricate molding operations required to form the dovetail engagement of the locking bar with the remaining housing. Also, the type of package having the pivotally mounted closure portion for entrapping a cassette can only be used once due to the necessity to cut the retaining member to remove the cassette from the unit. Likewise, such packages have several component parts which increase the molding cost of the package.
The closest known prior art to the present invention is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,549. This package performs its intended functions extremely well, and the present invention is a modification thereof. The primary differences between this prior package and the present invention are as follows. First, the housing and the slide lock of the present package are formed as an integral one-piece member while in the prior art package the housing and slide lock are formed as two separate members. The integral one-piece construction is more cost effective than the separate molding of the two parts and subsequent joining of this prior art package. Secondly, since such packaging devices are mass produced and publicly displayed to market the products contained therein, a thief quickly devises ways to defeat the security aspect of the device. Therefore, the present invention utilizes a different key and locking system than the prior art package to further retard theft of the cassette from the retail store.
Another recent development in the recording industry is the compact disc digital audio system. In this system, the sound is reproduced on a small, convenient sound carrier unit. The disc is approximately 1/2 inches in diameter and produces a unique combination of digital playback with laser optics. These compact discs, as they are referred to in the audio industry, are finding acceptance in the United States and many foreign countries. Therefore, the need is arising for a security package for storing and displaying these discs.
These discs, due to their relatively small size, have the same theft and display problems discussed above with respect to the usual audio cassette. These compact discs are currently packaged in a plastic box and have a circular recessed holder in one-half of the box with a top half closure that is pivotally mounted on the bottom half. Although these existing packages are satisfactory, they are relatively expensive and do not eliminate the storage and theft problems.
Therefore, the need exists for an improved cassette package which can be used either in the usual 8-track tape storage racks or in the record disc storage racks, and which can be produced inexpensively yet is sufficiently strong and durable so as to be reusable. Furthermore, the need exists for a cassette package which is inexpensive to manufacture, yet which is sophisticated enough to thwart the retail store cassette thief. It is also desirable that such a cassette package be adaptable for use as a storage package for compact audio discs. There is no known cassette package of which I am aware that provides these features and advantages.